Filling head for can filling machines



July 14, 1931. v Q J LEONARD 1,814,168

' FILLING HEAD FOR CAN FILLING MACHINES Filed Jan. 14, 1928 |"""Hllllllllllllllll||||||||||| Patented July 14, 1931 FILLING HEA FOR can FILLING imoninns Application filed January 14, 1928. Serial No. 246,829. 1

I LEONARD, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORKv This invention relates to filling heads for can filling machines that are used for filling semi-solids such as tomato sauce etc. for saucing spaghetti,'beans, etc., and the object 5 of this invention is to provide a filling head line 1w-1a2 of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the filling head. V

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the filling head with a portion partly broken away at w the top.

In the several figures of the drawings; like reference numerals indicate like parts.

' The filling head forming the subject matter of m present invention is especially adapted for use in filling cans with semisolid canned'material'such as tomato sauce or any other similar material used for saucing sp'aghetti, etc. Such .material has been found to be very diflicult to fill into cans by f 13.0 machinery because of the semi-solid state in which the material has to be handled. Can filling machines used for this purpose have,

therefore, been found to be very inefficient in the handling of these canned goods.

33 Much of the trouble in filling cans with the semi-solid material is due to the fact that the material is retained in the intake and air passage of the filling head of the ma-' chine allowing this retained material to drip from the filling head after the filled can has been withdrawn. I

The cans are filled by the can filling machine by means'of gravity in which thematerial is fed from a tank located above the 745 head into the can to be filled. To make this possible, the airfrom the canis allowed to escapethru an air line in the filling head. This air line 1 also fills up with canning material in present day machines because of the excess of semi-solid matter allowed to feed into the can so that the material in the air line drips from the filling head after the filled can has been withdrawn. In the type offilling' head forming the subject matter of this invention the retaining of any semisolid matter in the filling or supply line or the air line has been practically eliminated, and the filling head operates in such a manner that-none of the material is lost during thefillin'g operation by dripping from the filling head before a can is located under it.

As illustrated in the figures of the drawings,the filling head comprises a circular casing 1 which is open at the bottom so as to expose the resilient rubber gasket or seal 2, which is mounted within it. The filling line,' air line and the vacuum relief or vent line all extend thru the solid center of the casing 1 and in each. of them is located a valve by means of which the opening lead ing into each of these ducts is controlled.

The filling line 4 has the greatest inside diameter and thru it is drawn the semi-solid matter that is filled into the can. The lower end of this filling line is enlarged and betweenthe enlarged portion and the filling line properis formed the valve seat 5. Cooperating with this valve seat is the piston valve 6 which is mounted in the enlarged end of the filling lineand'is carriedonthe lower end of the valve stem 7 This valve stem' extends thru the filling line and carries on the upper end suitable..means'whereby the valve may be intermittently raised and lowered to open orclose the valve 6 on the valve seat 5. In the wall of the enlarged end of the filling tube are-provided the'channels 8 and 9 which extend from the end of the opening of the enlarged filling line to the valve seat 5 provided therein. The valve 6 at the end of the valve stem? completely fills. the enlarged end of the filling line so thatnone of thesemi-soli'd material can pass thru the liquid line and enter the can located under the filling head except thru the vertical ductsor channels 8and9. As the valve is unseated from its seat 5 as illustrated in Figure 1, the semi-solid material is drawn thru thefilling line l into the vertical ducts or channels 8 and 9 and past the valve head j 6 into the can located below the filling head. The canning material is allowed to flow from the tank 31 into the can in this manner until it is filled. As the can is filled the air within the can which is being replaced, escapes thru the air line 10 in which a valve 11 which is similar to the valve ,6 is mounted in order to control the opening and closing of this air line. The valve 11 is adapted to seat itself on the valve seat 12 and in the wall of the air line alongside the valve. is a vertical duct 13 thru which the air passes from within the can into the air duct 10 proper. A suitable mechanism also operates to open and close the valve 11 in cooperation" with the Valve 6. p t

A vent duct 14 is also provided in the filling-head and this duct iscontrol'le'd by the valve 15 carried on the valve stem 16. The valve stem carries at the upper endan antifriction roller 18 and between this roller and the top of the casing 1 and surrounding the valve stem. is placed the expansion spring 19 which normally keeps the valve 15 seated and the vent duct closed". Suitable means are provided on the filling machine (not shown). thru which the valve stem 16 is depressed at the proper time to allow air to enter thru the vent duct 14: into the can located below the filling head. Thisoperation of the valve 15 takes place after, the can is filled, that is, after both the filling line valve and air line valve are closed. This is necessary because the partial vacuum or suction created within the can after the filling line valve and air line valve are closed, interferes with the. withdrawal of the filled can unless this vacuumis first destroyed. This is accomplished by the admission of air. into the top of the filled can which takes place onthe opening of the valve 15' in the vent duct 14L For the purpose of accurately gauging the amount of material to befilled in the can a gauging plunger 17 is provided in the fill ing head' This plunger iscarried on the lower end of the threaded stemlT-A which has athreaded engagement in the bracket 20 by which the plunger is held in place in a suitable pocketso that it can be. moved in r and out of the pocket by threading its supporting stem up or down in the'bracket 20.

In filling a can it is advisable to leave some free space in the top of the can and this space is accurately gauged by the gauging block or plunger 17. For this purpose the plunger can-bemade to project any predetermineddistance into the top ofthe canby raising or lowering it by means of. its threaded stem and on the free space to be left in the can after being filled depends the amount of space this plunger is permitted to .displace'in the can when it projectsinto it during the filling operation.

' As previously pointed out,.the semi-solid material to be filled in the can by the filling head enters thru the filling line 4 and the ducts 8 and 9 at the lower end of the line when the valve 6 is open. As soon as the can is filled, the valve 6 closes and any of the semi-solid material located within the ducts 8 and 9 is cut of]? at the valve seat by the seating of the valve 6. The semi-solid matter, therefore,- gets achance to lodge onthe seat and this is not sufiicient to prevent the seating of the valve. The closing of the filling line depends largely on the closing of the upper ends of the ducts 8 and 9 which takes place when the valve is pulled back into the enlarged end ofthefilling tube. Only very little of the semi-liquid material is retained in. the inside of the short ducts 8 and -9after the valve been closed so that not much, titan-y, of; the material drops outoftheend of the filling line while the filled can is with drawn from the head andan empty one put 1 in its place. i V

The same is true inthe air line which "is closed by the valve 11. When the can is filled some of the semi-solidimaterial flows into theendof the airline; after the can is full, that is, just before the; valve is; closed. Only what is located in the duct 13, alongside of the valve ll is, however, left to return into the can while the remainder thereof which has been cut off on tlie clo'sing of the 1 valve is heldywithin the airline' abovethe valve until the filled can has been withdrawn andan empty can put in its place; None of the material is thus wasted during the replacement period of the cans, but as soenas the empty can is located under the filling head and the valvell is opened-,1the material retained inthe air line from the previous filling drains into the empty. can. due toit-s weight before the filling lineis again. opened to fill the can from the supplytank. Y

This cycle of filling operation takesplace infilling eonsecutive cans and after each one is filled the-air vent is; opened to destroy the vacuum orsuction on top of thefilled. canto allow the filled can to be withdrawn and a new: one put initsv place unde'rGthe filling heada- The air line and liquid line extend up to and. are integralwith the platform on which". rests the filling tank 31. The air line 32extends up through "and above thistanh so that the air will escapeabove' any liquid that is mamma -1a the" tank. The tank makes a tightjointwith the air line 352* with theliquid lineor filling line" 4. .{As shown in'Fignref I the valve stems? and 33 extend above the tanker) that the valves 6 and 11 can. beniechanic'ally ope ated there} by; With this construction the air and liquid lines are solid throughout. and the're is no telescoping. joint contained therein}, and upon which the: operat on is. dependent.

This greatly'simplifies the constructionei the filling head and makes the operation of it more dependable.

I claim:

1.'In a filling head for can filling machines, the combination of a casing having an open bottom, a solid center, a cushioning pad in said casing surrounding said solid center, a filling line leading thru said solid center, said filling line in said solid center having an enlarged short cylindrical extension with a valve seat between the filling line and the extension, a piston valve adapted to slide up and down in said cylindrical extension, said piston valve being adapted to seat or unseat on said valve seat and open and close the end of said filling line, a by-pass duct in the wall of said enlarged cylindrical extension extending from the end of said extension to said valve seat so as to bypass the material entering thru said feeding line around said piston valve, said valve being solid and when seated being positioned with the lower end thereof substantially in line with the bottom of the solid center.

2. In a filling head, the combination of a casing having an open bottom and a solid center, a cushioning pad in said casing and surrounding said solid center, a filling line, an air line and a vent line passing thru said solid center and a valve in each of said lines at the outlets thereof to control the opening and closing of said lines.

3. In a filling head, the combination of a casing having an open bottom and a solid center, a cushioning pad in said casing and surrounding said solid center, a filling line, an air line and a vent line passing thru said solid center and a valve in each of said lines at the outlets thereof to control the opening and closing of said lines, a measuring plunger mounted in said solid center and means for adjusting said plunger in or out of said solid center.

4. In a filling head, the combination of a casing having an open bottom and a solid center, a cushioning pad in said casing and surrounding said solid center, a filling line passing thru said solid center, said filling line having a valve seat therein, a valve head adapted to seat or unseat on said valve seat and open and close said filling lineand a by-pass duct in said filling line below said valve seat and head to form'a continuation of said filling line on the opening of said valve, said valve being solid and when seated being positioned with the lower end thereof substantially in line with the bottom of the solid center.

5. In a filling head, the combination of a casing having an open bottom and a solid center, passages extending up through said solid center, an air exhaust pipe line and a liquid filling pipe line connecting with such passages and extending upward therefrom, a platform supported thereby, on which a fillhead, a cushioning pad at the bottom of isaid head, a filling line, an air line and a vent line passing thru said filling head, a valve in each of said lines controlling the outlet, thereof, at the lower end of said lines.

6. In a filling head, the combination of a IOii 

